Dear Parents, Teachers and Students,

Mt Carmel Day
Because we can’t celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Mt Carmel on its actual date – July 16, which falls during the school holidays – we will be celebrating our school’s foundation on another Feast Day dedicated to Mary: the Feast of the Assumption, Tuesday 15 August. There will be a variety of activities for students to participate in throughout the day to foster school spirit and learn about our history. A special treat will be provided for everyone at Morning Tea (all dietary needs will be catered for) and Fr Peter will celebrate Mass with us at 12pm in St Augustine’s Church. Parents who would like to join us for Mass are most welcome to attend (the Feast of the Assumption is a Holy Day of Obligation in the Catholic Church). Students will wear their regular (sports) uniform on the day.


Yass Valley SPIN Pyjama Day
This Friday 11 August is Pyjama Day! In support of Yass Valley SPIN (Supporting People In Need), a wonderful organisation that directly assists people in our local community, we are inviting students to bring in a gold-coin donation and come to school dressed in your favourite PJs.

Book Week
Book Week is fast approaching and our classes are all working hard to complete displays for our Library based on this year’s short-listed books. This year we will be having our Book Week Parade on Wednesday 23 August at 12:30pm under the playground shadecloth. Our annual dress-up parade is a firm favourite on the school’s social calendar; parents and other relatives are warmly invited to attend. The school will be providing a sausage sizzle lunch for students on the day of the parade and we are seeking volunteers who may be able to assist. If you are able to assist, please use the link below to voluenteer, or email natalie.broers@cg.catholic.edu.au.

Book Week - BBQ Volunteer Form


After School Supervision
I need to ask parents to please not send their children to play on the school equipment unsupervised after school. It’s not uncommon for students whose parents are not with them to join others who are playing on the equipment and be late for bus lines or pickup, and should falls or accidents occur on school premises, liability remains with us.


Year 5 Camp
Best wishes to our Year 5 students who departed for Warrambui this morning. They have a full program of exciting outdoor and leadership activities ahead of them, and I’m looking forward to joining them on Thursday and Friday to share in the fun! My sincere thanks to all teachers who are assisting at camp this week, especially to Ms Grace and Mrs Hogan for giving up two nights with their own families and comfortable beds so that our students can enjoy a camp experience.


Payments to the School
Can I please ask that the BPay code provided with school-fee statements be used to pay fees only, not excursions, camps, uniforms etc. These other payments should be made via Qkr!, Compass or in person at the school office.


Family Event with Andrew Fuller
Catholic School Parents Canberra and Goulburn are offering a free Family Event with renowned pshychologist Andrew Fuller, being hosted at St John Paul II College on Tuesday 5 September at 6pm. There is an option for live streaming for parents and carers that are unable to attend in-person. The event aims to brings families from across the Archdiocese together and give them practical ways they can support their child in their learning. A flier with registration information can be found at the end of this newsletter.


Altar Servers
The parish is still recruiting Altar Servers to serve at Mass on Sunday mornings. Serving on the altar helps children to become more engaged with the Mass and to better understand its rituals. It is also a great way to encourage our children to become active citizens, with a positive attitude towards community service.

Servers must have received the sacraments of Reconciliation and First Holy Communion. Anyone from Year 4 and up would be most welcome to participate in this important role. Training will be provided during school hours and at Mass by the Liturgy committee and experienced servers. Please return the commitment slip (attached to this newsletter or collected from the front office) if your child would like to help with this special job.


Irish and Celtic Music Festival Children’s Workshops
On 17-18 September, as part of the Yass Irish and Celtic Music Festival, Mt Carmel will be hosting the Junior Fleadh. 

Fleadh (pronounced flah) is a Celtic word that means festival, and it is a chance for students who are interested in Irish music to come and join in free instrumental and dance workshops, culminating in a concert to showcase what the children have learned; all experience levels are welcome. More information and an RSVP link can be found further in this newsletter.


Departing Students
Schools are required to record destination schools for all departing students. We ask that all families of Year 6 students inform us as soon as possible of the high school your child will be attending. In the Forms & Documents tile on the school website is a Year 7 2024 Destination eForm, or you can use the link below to access the form directly. We also request that any K-5 families moving from Mt Carmel at the end of this year send Mr Green an email (michael.green@cg.catholic.edu.au) as soon as possible indicating your intentions along with your destination. Much of this term is spent preparing for next year and our student numbers need to be accurate. Thank you for assisting us with this information gathering. 

https://mtcarmelsyass.schoolzineplus.com/form/17

May God’s peace be in your families, 

Michael Green
Principal

Religious Education in the Classroom
Welcome to Week 4! 5AH students are exploring: How can we use prayer to build our relationship with God? Students have examined the definition of prayer and the different types of prayers.

Religious Life of Mt Carmel School

Thank you to Mrs Rhodes and 3ER for a lovely prayer service to celebrate the Feast of St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

Mt Carmel Day Celebrations
Mt Carmel School will be celebrating the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Mary and the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mt Carmel with a Mass on Tuesday 15 August 2023, 12 noon, at St Augustine’s Church. Before recess, students will participate in Mt Carmel Day activities and will enjoy a special cupcake for recess.

Parents and the wider community are invited to celebrate our Mass in honour of Mary. 

Mt Carmel’s Mini Vinnies News
Wear a Beanie Fundraiser 2023
Mini Vinnies is running a fundraiser on Friday 18 August to support our local St Augustine’s Conference. Mt Carmel School students are invited to wear a beanie and donate a gold coin. 

Parish News

Children’s Liturgy of the Word is held at Mass on the 2nd and 4th Sundays

of the month. All children are invited to be part of the activities centred around the particular weekend’s Gospel.

Parish Mass
Click on this link for further details http://staug-yass.org.au/wp/sacraments/. 

Have a lovely week!
Eva Karakotas
Religious Education Coordinator

Love One Another

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” John 15:12

TODD WOODBRIDGE CUP
WHAT IS THE TODD WOODBRIDGE CUP?
The Todd Woodbridge Cup is a primary school competition for stage 2 (years 3 and 4) that uses modified equipment, numeric scoring and mixed gender teams. This year we also have a limited number of Stage 3 (Years 5 and 6) pilot events on offer. 

The competition commences with school zone events followed by regional playoffs (term 3) and finally a state final that is held at Sydney Olympic Park each year (term 4).

The Todd Woodbridge Cup will be held at the Hume Tennis Club Yass on 30/08/2023. If you are in Year 3 or 4 and would like to enter the event, please use the link below to register.

A cost of $5 per student will be required once nominations have been made.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1JmhkyKGzWNp4UNiRaEuHZI06etO-7hqGP_Z0Z_5IzCk/edit



Touch Football Gala Day
NSW Touch is holding a gala day in Yass on Tuesday 22 August at Walker Park. All students in years 3-6 will be participating. Teachers will split classes into girls, boys and mixed teams for the day. It is a non-competitive, fun and free event for all students in Yass and surrounds. All students need to do is turn-up on the day in their normal sports uniform. If your child is unable to participate, please let me or their class teacher know.


Gecko Sport
Here are some shots of 4SS playing Lacrosse with Geoff from Gecko Sport.

Trials 
Please check the C & G website and the Facebook page for information about upcoming events https://www.sport.cg.catholic.edu.au/calendar.

Ted Dunstan
Sports Coordinator

Congratulations to the recipients of last week's Mt Carmel Awards.
 Awards will now be handed out at morning lines each Friday.

KAA Aurora Irwin Sophie Gannon	KJG Gigi Aniversario Phoebe Mitchell Isla Wood
1AH Zoe Di Sisto Charlie Butt Hennessey Rankin Ted Ward	1KG Claudia Klemmer Dane Hewett Harry Agistino
2LS Mikayla Clements Charlotte Osborne Baxter McDonald	2SS Eleena Mattappallil Scott Tome
3ER Isabelle Davis Logan Johnson	3ML Heidi Tyndall Vincent Da Deppo Gabe Dunstan
4SS Macy Camilleri Phoebe Reynolds Milton McDonald	4TD Isla Townsend Lachlan Inkster
5AH Phoenix Streatfeild Josephine Streatfeild Archer Reagan Sofia DaDeppo	5KG Lola Finnigan Zoe Seselja Rosie Rainger Jack Butt
6EG Milla Shelton Emma Barker Oscar Walsh George Watson	6JR Emily Ryan Emily Foran Milly Shannon Emmett Crocker

CBCA Book Week 2023
The CBCA Book Week is a celebration of books and Australian children's authors and illustrators. This year’s theme is Read Grow Inspire. There will be various activities for students to enjoy during Week 6. 

Book Week Parade
The Book Week Parade will be held on Wednesday 23 August.

Students are invited to dress up as a book character for the day. The Book Week Parade will commence at 12:30pm.

A sausage sizzle lunch will be provided for the students to celebrate this special day. Dietary requirements will be catered for.

Open Library
At the conclusion of the parade all visitors are invited to the Lacey Library. Every class will have a display based on one of the CBCA Shortlisted Books to view.

Volunteers Needed
We are seeking volunteers for cooking the BBQ for the sausage sizzle lunch on Wednesday 23 August. We will also need helpers to organise the class boxes for distribution. Cooking and organising will begin at 10am. Any volunteers will be able to watch the parade at 12.30pm.

Book Week - BBQ Volunteer Form

NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge
The 2023 Challenge is in the final days! Students who are completing the 2023 Premier’s Reading Challenge have just 1 week to go. The challenge will conclude on Friday 18 August 2023.

If you have any questions or concerns please email me at natalie.broers@cg.catholic.edu.au.

Congratulations to the following students who have recently completed the challenge for 2023.

Chevy Leahy
Elisabeth Morris
Delilah Inglis
Mabel Adie
Mackenna Leahy

Term 3 Dates
Premier’s Reading Challenge concludes - Week 5 Friday 18 August

Book Week - Week 6 Monday 21 August - Friday 25 August

Book Week Parade - Week 6 Wednesday 23 August

Author Visit - Sarah Davis - Week 8 Wednesday 6 September



Nat Broers
Teacher Librarian

On Tuesday, more than 30 students gave up their recess to discuss ways we can help the environment here at Mt Carmel. Our first project is reducing plastic going to landfill. We are going to be collecting items that can be recycled as part of the Lids4Kids initiative. We are asking families to send in any of these items and we will organise them to be recycled. It's amazing that after just one meeting, we are already seeing an impact. We will keep you updated with our progress.

In appreciation,
Mrs Green (on behalf of the Environmental Team)

The Mt Carmel School Uniform Shop is open each Tuesday afternoon between 2.30pm – 4.00pm during school terms.

The link to book tickets is - https://www.trybooking.com/CGWFR